This week the overkill discussions about the budget proved to be a distraction from all other subjects. Had it not been for a programme on RTK I listened to by chance, I would not have remembered the first anniversary of the death of Bishop Nikol Cauchi. I heard Bishop Mario Grech speaking about his pastoral visit to Australia and then, at the tail end of the programme, he referred to the anniversary of the death of Bishop Cauchi.
He is a man to remember.
I had written about him in my weekly commentary in The Sunday Times.
I will here use some extracts from that piece to commemorate this great man.
“ Bishop’s Cauchi’s joke cracking ability was a worthy and dignified Episcopal activity as it was a sign of his great humane disposition. In a world marked by so much suffering and hardship, the ability to bring a smile to people’s faces should be a pre-condition for anyone appointed to the ministry of a bishop! Bishop Cauchi cracked jokes to break the ice with people he met, to ease tension during controversial meetings and just for the sake of it. I remember very tense meetings at the Curia during the troubled years of the early to mid-1980s. The issues discussed tended to get too hot at times – and that is an understatement. Mgr Cauchi came to everybody’s rescue with his jokes. Everyone laughed and sanity returned to the discussion towards which he then contributed actively and effectively.
His communication skills were superb. Bishop Cauchi was both a good writer and a good speaker. His writings prove the former while his homilies and radio programmes prove the latter.
His life was not all smiles. Bishop Cauchi had the onerous task of translating the Vatican II theology and mentality to his diocese. Traditions tend to die-hard and those entrusted with their removal have to pay a dear price. Mgr Cauchi paid that price which had the value added burden of rampant parochialism. He soldiered on with doing little and not so little reforms. His strategy to renovate the clergy was as simple as it was effective. He asked newly ordained priests to spend some time in overseas dioceses. This proved to be a very valid contribution to those dioceses while it exposed the Gozitan priests to new and different mentalities which helped broaden their outlook and mature them.”
Bishop Mario Grech also made a reference to the book “Bishop Cauchi. Articles and Pictures.” The book was published by the Bishop Nikol Cauchi Foundation and was edited by his close friend Steve Mallia. It is a gem of a book as it is a wonderful collage of pictures and articles both of which point out to a most important characteristic of Bishop Nikol: he was a man for others; all others. He wrote about traffic accidents, blood donation, the homeless, occupational accidents, data protection, sacred music and, quite typical, a sense of humour. Bishop Cauchi also aired his opinion about the big debates that we have had in our country. Such subjects include the accession to the European Union, divorce and illegal migration. The photos range from family photos taken a long time ago to photos showing him with all sorts of people in all sorts of circumstances. Most of all, the book quite appropriately includes many photos of him smiling. The photo on the cover is one of the most beautiful.
It can still be bought from most leading bookshops, included from Word on Word, the bookshop of Allied Publications in Castille Place, Valletta.
Ad Multos Annos
Life is a continuous cycle of beginnings and endings. If the previous comment was about an ending, this one is about a beginning. It was not registered on the national agenda due to the diversionary strategy adopted by those who proposed the budget on the day it was proposed.
I refer to Mgr Anton Gouder’s successful accession to the Klabb Karta Anzjan. He has been trying for the last 60 years to be admitted. Finally his application was unanimously accepted.
Ad Multos Annos my friend.